A Laugh a Minute By Our Clock
You know you've made it when not only do you win awards, but you win awards named after yourself. Among the array of stand-up comics at the third Las Vegas Comedy Festival—top political satirist Will Durst, accordian goddess Judy Tenuta (pictured) and more—will be awards given out to Sid Caesar (the Casear Award), Phyllis Diller (the Diller Award) and posthumously to Buddy Hackett (the Buddy Award). In the future, will Dane Cook and Brett Butler win the It's Hard to Find Good Help Award?
LOCAL CD
Poppermost (3 stars)
Absolutely Sonic
Local pop-rock trio Poppermost return with their second full-length release, a fun collection of garage-style rock that's reminiscent of Oasis and the poppier moments of bands like Jet and the Hives. Some of the arrangements could be a little tighter, but songs like the energetic "Catch Me If I Fall" and the Southern-flavored "Bang Bang" are catchy, infectious good times.
BOOK
Even if you do not love to cook, you've gotta love the 1,000-plus page Gourmet Cookbook new from Houghton Mifflin, which has more than a thousand recipes culled from more than 60 years of Gourmet magazine.
Me, I've been sifting through this tome all weekend, imagining myself at the stove preparing La Brea Tar Pit chicken wings, Moroccan chickpea tomato stew and inside-out German chocolate cake. Edited by Ruth Reichl, Gourmet's high profile Editor-In-Chief (and my old boss at the Los Angeles Times), the book will make the perfect holiday gift, for a loved one or for yourself.
DVDs
That's Entertainment Trilogy Giftset (G) (5 stars)
$49.92
Once bragging of employing "more stars than there are in the heavens," MGM now exists only in the memory of lovers of Hollywood classics. This compilation includes all three editions of That's Entertainment and a fourth disc, Treasures From the Vault. It's hard to imagine a better gift for AMC and TMC fans.
The Shawshank Redemption (R) (4 stars)
$26.99
It's been 10 years since Shawshank was released to good reviews but a lukewarm box office. Seven Oscar nominations later, it's a blockbuster on video. The many fine features in this two-disc anniversary edition can't explain how to capture lightning in a bottle twice.
Devo: Live in the Land of the Rising Sun (NR) (3 stars)
$14.95
Devo, a staple of the art-rock scene for decades, is now enjoying a resurgence of popularity fueled by recent concerts like the one from 2003. Also look for a slamming session by Supersuckers, Live In Anaheim / Mid-Fi Field Recordings Vol. 3, the guitar-heavy band not afraid to rhapsodize about drugs, drinking, bimbos and other redneck pastimes.